Daily life, advice and reviews from an everyday mummy.

Posts tagged ‘mummyblogger’

Can I have it all?
I have recently been thinking about changing the way my career is progressing. I opted to apply for a completely new role which also requires a university course alongside. Amazingly I got the role and September 1st I start this new adventure.

However in the back of my mind, I feel guilty. I feel guilty that I am putting my focus in the wrong place. Should I be concentrating on my children whilst they are still very young? Bear is only 13 months and Dude is 4.5.
I stayed at home on maternity leave for 12 months. Don’t get me wrong I loved the time with my children but I needed something for myself in the end. I felt like my days needed a purpose, an aim and some adult conversation over something other than poo habits and sore nipples.

My return to my current job has had minimal effects on my children and we still get to do our fun days, toddler groups as well as our more mundane tasks of cleaning and washing. Its about maintaining that balance so that your children feel they are always first. I no longer stay late at work, I don’t offer to do the overtime and I have the flexibility to plan my shifts to fit my childrens lives.

I don’t know what this new role will bring. I hope to study and complete assignments in the evenings when the children are in bed. My working hours are less than my current role and therefore I shop the children will not notice this change at all!

So, the question…Can I have it all?

I dont believe I can have it all. I believe that I should still have my own aims and aspirations but I should and I will always put my children first. If anything I try becomes detrimental to my children’s lives I will put it on hold.

Only time will tell how this new role will affect our family however if I don’t at least try I know I will always regret!

Look at this contraption!! Bear got this for his 1st birthday and its huge!

Glad we packed away the Jumperoo to make some room.

Putting it togetherThis took Daddy nearly an hour to assemble. The tools that came with it didnt really do the job so make sure you have more screwdrivers etc handy.

SturdinessIt’s surprisingly sturdy! Bear (And Dude) can pull up on it and climb it and it doesnt move or topple over. It’s a heavy toy and very well made for those overzealous toddlers.

InteractivityThe music that plays is very different to any other baby toy I’ve come across. It’s more disco than lullaby but Bear loves dancing to the tune. Alongside this, the main tube down the middle flashes different colour lights, turn off the lights at nights and you feel you are in some kind of toddler discotheque!

Playing with the toyThere are 8 balls that come with it to roll down the 3 different runs. An inflatable sphere with a ball inside (which Dude uses like a boxing ball) and Bear’s favourite the green ‘door’ to swing back and forwards.

It’s a lovely colourful toy with lots of stimulation for toddlers. The children play with it every day but it is not a toy that keeps their attention for very long. It’s a heavy toy and takes up a bit of space. The only change I would make is the choice of folding it away for storage when not in use.

Bear is one in 7 days…How did this happen! How did he grow from this tiny little thing that popped into the world with a bang to a crawling, babbling boy.
We are unsure if we will have another, its definitely hard work with the 2 boys and working long hours 3 days a week as well as juggling home life, pre school runs and general mummy stuff! Therefore we have been selling things as Bear has grown out of them – clothes, bouncers, etc. However there is one thing I cannot part with for some reason and thats the baby car seat.
It has been used for both Dude and Bear. As car seats have an expiry date of 5 years, I doubt we would be able to use it again if we had further children anyway! But it has some kind of hold over me that I cant seem to shift! I don’t want anybody else to use the seat, it was how we first brought our children home from the hospital. Its only fabric and plastic but it has memories. Firsts, first places we went as a family, first car rides to see the family.
I think it will have to stay with us….just for the minute anyway. Until I can get my head around it. Maybe its the fear of having no more children, maybe its the fear of the children growing up. I don’t know. For now it will have to stay on the bedroom floor.

If like me you have a child obsessed with the Hoover, then this is brilliant. Bear would follow me around with my hetty Hoover but would mess around with the electric cable. Now he has his own he can Hoover to his heart content and the cable is safe to play with.

Technically this is his brothers toy but bear has taken a like to it and can actually get in and out by himself. He loves being pushed around by his older brother and will happily sit in this watching the world go by!

When dude was born, my mum kindly bought the pram. Unfortunately there was a design flaw with it and so I bought another. And from here is where my pram addiction spiralled!
In total I think I had 6 or 7 different prams until he could walk most places.
Then bear came along… I had a perfectly good pram in a truffle brown colour however I sold this and bought the exact same one in blue! Yes crazy i know! This pram I have used for the last 8.5 months. It’s the Mamas and Papas Sola and is brilliant. Only downside it can be difficult as a quick put up pram as it is heavy.

So in November we took a trip to Disneyland Paris and I decided we needed something smaller to take. Yes we have a decent stroller in the garage but I felt bear was too young for this. So I invested in what will hopefully be my last ever pram! (Haha! I do love the look of the armadillo flip though 😜)

This is the Mamas and Papas armadillo in blue fizz.

It reclines flat which is great for when bear is sleeping. Has a large basket underneath which you can get to from all sides. The hood is very large! Which is great either on a windy day or when the sun is shining!
I’ve had dude sit in this pram back in December at disneyland, he was 3.8 years and he fitted fine and it was still easy to push!!
It folds really small and can be easily carried with one hand so ideal for bus journeys and things.
I really do love this pram but I just wished I had a waited a little while for the armadillo flip which is parent facing aswell as bear is still so young and I like to have him facing me.

Where do baby socks disappear too? I swear I buy more on a weekly basis as they just seem to be lost in an abyss somewhere!
You will see bear wearing odd socks quite often! We’ll call it a fashion statement!
But seriously where are they!!